friday mixed tape: my first tapes

by Hugh

When I was a kid I spent summers at my uncle’s farm in Ontario. All my cousins are older than me – and the youngest was Moira, so she spent the most time with me I guess. In 1980 I was 6 years old, and Moira was probably in her late teens, and I remember memorizing (some of) the words to the Billie Joel tune, Still Rock n Roll to Me, which played on the radio all that summer. Later, in 1983-84, another cousin from Ontario, Rose, lived with us for a year in Montreal. When she left, she gave me two tapes, the first I ever owned: David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, and Queen’s The Works.

And so, here are some more musical memories from childhood:

Billie Joel: It’s Still Rock n Roll to Me.

David Bowie: China Girl
[Note: I think this is the stranges video I’ve ever seen. UPDATE: and that’s stevie ray vaughn on guitar, by the way]

Queen: Radio Ga Ga
[Note: as I write this, the radio tells me that guitarist Brian May was awarded his doctorate today in atstrophysics, from Imperial College London, with a dissertaition titled: “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud”]

6 Responses to “friday mixed tape: my first tapes”

Still rock and roll to me! I remember when that played on the radio every five minutes! Haven’t thought of it since. :) Can’t wait to watch the video. “how about a pair of cheap sidewinders and a bright orange pair of pants? you could really be a Beau Brummel baby if something something something…” (I think that’s how it goes)

let’s dance was considered by many a betrayal & sell-out by bowie – formerly the waaay out there ziggy stardust, this was … well … a dance album, watered down for the radio market. among his most hated albums, but still the songs are great. you probably remember “let’s dance”: “put on your red shoes and dance the blues:”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30AVhf-ZLwM (also a fantastic video … and he does have quite a voice).